It was at the ancient barangay of Hilerang Kawayan near the Kansayahan river (near Taysan), 12 miles north, where they finished the Rosary. Hilerang Kawayan, which happened to be a Dominican territory, suddenly became well populated and the establishment of the Poblacion of Rosario (named after the Holy Rosary)--with a vast territory that stretched from the east and south shores (San Juan and Lobo) up to the boundaries of Ibaan and Lipa--immediately followed. The Dominicans appointed Don Nicolas Morales as Rosario's first Gobernadorcillo (Mayor/Judge). They concentrated in agricultural industry; and in 1698 they built the Nuestra Senora del Rosario church along with other public facilities such as school, palengke, plaza, municipio, and cemetery. But, after a short span of only 53 years, in 1739, the Dominicans made a hasty decision to abandon Hilerang Kawayan (now known as Pinagbayanan) when they learned that the Moros were back. The Poblacion was immediately relocated to the ancient barangay of Tubig-ng-Bayan, only 1 hr. of horse walk (1 League) away from Lipa. In 1776, they built a huge Holy Rosary Church and various facilities with the help of the Recollects.
Soon, many ancient barangays of Rosario flourished on their own rights and became independent, such as: those on the East shore (San Juan) in 1848; Taysan in 1850; and on the South shore (Lobo) in 1871. Rosario, which used to enjoy fishing and miles and miles of beaches along Tayabas bay, excelled in agriculture and became known as the Rice Granary of Batangas.
In 1898, the Spanish-American war broke out and ended only in 3 months when Spain ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam, to United States. The Philippine Islands which had been rich in natural resources was also ceded in exchange for a lump sum of $20,000,00.00.
The Philippine-American war, otherwise known as Philippine Insurrection, immediately followed; but the Filipinos suffered a series of heavy losses after the assasination of Gen. Antonio Luna by the bodyguards of his own superior, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo. The 3-year war ended when Aguinaldo, the revolutionary leader, was captured in 1901 in Palanan, Isabela, by Col. Frederick Funston with the help of the Macabebe Scouts. The people of Macabebe--once a separate Kingdom located in Pampanga and a counterpart of a Moro tribe in the South before the Spaniards came--offered their services to both the Spaniards and the Americans as mercenaries which eventually became a part of the Philippine Constabulary. Before long, ancient barangays became barrios; and Gobernadorcillo and Cabeza de Barangay were called Presidente and Teniente del Barrio, respectively.
A year after the war ended, there was still a remaining struggling revolutionary group headed by Gen. Miguel C. Malvar, who at first did not want to surrender. Capt. Daniel Hall Boughton of Minnesota who was with the US Army 3rd Cavalry--under the command of Gen. James Franklin Bell, a West Point graduate (1878) from Kentucky--was ordered to make an all out campaign to persuade Gen. Malvar, whom they learned was somewhere in Rosario, to surrender. When Capt. Boughton and his men reached Rosario on horseback, they stumbled upon a huge source of potable water in the ancient barangay of Tombol, the Tombol Spring (bukal), just south of Tombol Hill (bundok). It was mainly in the name of the discovery that Boughton had the American government develop the ancient barangay of Tombol into a modern village which he named: New Rosario.
Many of Malvar's men defected and joined the American forces. Gen. Malvar himself finally surrendered on April 16, 1902, in Balugbog, of ancient barangay of Baybayin, and was immediately taken to Gen. Bell's Provincial Headquarters in Lipa. My grandfather, Hilario Suanes Laygo--who died at the age of 115 in 1970, when I was 20--was already 47 when Boughton and his men came. According to him, Boughton's superior fire power made them deduce they were being surrounded by a battalion of troops only to find out, to their surprise, they were even fewer than a platoon.
The New Rosario (Barrio Tombol), where the Poblacion was eventually relocated after 163 years, on June 9, 1902, continued to prosper by leaps and bounds; and the place they left behind became known as Lumang Bayan (now: Padre Garcia). The American forces continued fighting in the South against the Moro tribes who were surprisingly resistant to .38 caliber bullets, hence the invention and immediate issuance of the .45 caliber service pistol in 1911. In 1920, huge pumping machineries and equipment were installed near the water source, Tombol Spring (bukal), to fill up the huge tank built on the south face of the adjoining 771-foot Tombol Hill that supplied potable water to homes all over the Poblacion. Gen. Malvar died in 1911 at the age of 46; followed by Boughton in 1914 at the age of 56, and J. Franklin Bell in 1919 at the age of 63.
In 1949, Lumang Bayan itself and 8 other barrios also became independent. Tombol Hill, on the other hand, was listed recently by PHIVOLCS (Philippine Institute of Volcanology & Seismology) as a sleeping volcano; and its last and next eruptions are still unknown.
The following were the payment jargons used when buying common items tuwing baraka pagka biyarnes. They can no longer be used nowadays, however, because the purchasing power of the currency has markedly changed:
1 centavo - Isang Pera
5 centavos - Isang Bagol or Walo
10 centavos - Dal'wang Bagol or Labing Anim
15 centavos - Tatlong Bagol
20 centavos - Isang Bilyon
25 centavos - Kahati
30 centavos - Kahati't Walo
35 centavos - Kahati't Labing Anim
40 centavos - Dal'wang Bilyon
45 centavos - Dal'wang Bilyo't Walo
50 centavos - 'sang Salapi
55 centavos - 'sang Salapi't Walo
60 centavos - Tatlong Bilyon
65 centavos - Tatlong Bilyo't Walo
70 centavos - 'sang Salapi't Isang Bilyon
75 centavos - 'sang Salapi't Kahati
80 centavos - Apat na Bilyon
85 centavos - Apat na Bilyo't Walo
90 centavos - Apat na Bilyo't Labing Anim
95 centavos - Apat na Bilyo't Tatlong Bagol
P1.00 (1 Peso) - Dal'wang Salapi
P1.05 - Dal'wang Salapi't Walo
P1.10 - Dal'wang Salapi't Labing Anim
P1.15 - Dal'wang Salapi't Tatlong Bagol
P1.20 - Dal'wang Salapi't Isang Bilyon
P1.25 - Dal'wang Salapi't Kahati
P1.50 - Tatlong Salapi
P2.00 - Apat na Salapi
P2.50 - Limang Salapi
Prices ng mga bilihin noong una:
PepsiCola/CocaCola/7-Up/Royal/Mission/Tru-Aid - dal'wang bagol
Sarsaparilya - isang bagol or walo
Sorbetes sa apa - isang bagol
Dilimon (5) - isang pera
Selyo - anim na pera
Fighter/Pure Gold/Old Gold/Snow Man - 'sang salapi
Bright Leaf/Golden Coin - kahati't dal'wang bagol
Blue seal - dal'wang salapi
Pamasaheng pa-Lipa - isang bilyon
Pamasaheng pa-Maynila sa B. T. Co. - dal'wang salapi
Gupit matanda - dal'wang bilyon
Gupit bata - kahati't walo
Arkila ng komiks - isang bagol
Itlog (White Leghorn) - dal'wang bagol or labing anim
Itlog (Tagalog) - tatlong bagol
Isang salop na bigas - dal'wang salapi't isang bagol
Isang baldeng ipa - kahati
Isang talakir na pakaskas - tatlong bagol
Isang tumpok na miralya - kahati't labing anim
Isang tigar na manok - sampung piso
BALARILA (STANDARD vs. BATANGAS)
Ang magkaaway ay nagsuntukan - Ang magkagalit ay nagpanuntok
Si Mang Kulas ay nadukutan - Si Ka Kulas ay natikasan
Ako'y nanaginip kagabi - Ako'y nangarap kagabi
Susunduin ko si lolo - kakaunin ko ang mamay
Magkano ba 'yan? - Gaano ga 'yan?
Ako'y natalisod - Ako'y natakid
Ang aking portamoneda ay nawala - Ang aking kwartamonida ay nalipol
Ang kanyang damit ay kung saan-saan nakalagay - Ang kanyang damit ay naghamaham
Ang asukal ay nilangam - Ang repinado ay ginuyam
Iho, anong oras na - Utoy, utoy, ano nang oras
Buksan mo - Buksi
Pakibukas - Buksi-buksi
Itaas mo - Taasi
Pakitaas - Taas-taasi
Lakasan mo - Laksi
Pakilakas - Laksi-laksi
About the Author:
Born and raised 1 mile west of Tombol Hill, Rosario, Batangas
Elementary - Rosario Central School
Secondary - Padre Vicente Garcia Memorial Academy
Residence:
U. S. A.
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